"China’s health authority recorded its first human infection of the H3N8
strain of avian
influenza. The variant was identified in a 4-year-old
boy from Henan province. The child raises chickens and crows in his home city of Zhumadian. On
April 5 he showed fever and other symptoms, then was admitted to a
medical institution five days later for treatment." SaraCarter
"Organic and free-range chickens have
been thrown into lockdown. Egg-laying hens that
normally have access to
the outdoors can no longer roam as freely or feel the sun on their
beaks as some U.S. and European farmers temporarily keep flocks inside
during lethal outbreaks of bird flu, according to egg producers and
industry representatives.The switch comes as a surprise to shoppers already shelling out more money for eggs due to cullings of infected flocks. The virus can also infect humans, though experts say the risk is low. In
France, where the government has temporarily required farmers to keep
chickens indoors since November, some retailers are defying obligations
to post clear information for consumers about the mandate, according to
checks of grocery stores by Reuters. "I didn't know that they had to
stay inside," said Josephine Barit, 34, a shopper at a small Paris store
that had no indications hens may have been confined." U.S.News&WorldReport
